Extra sweet Mother's Day for Limerick family as they announce 'rainbow baby' news

THIS year, Mother’s Day was extra sweet for one Limerick family who will soon welcome a ‘rainbow baby’ after going through grief. 

Áine Healy Collins, lost her baby daughter, Hollie, on Christmas Day in 2022. To help her son and others cope with grief, she penned Hollie’s Journey - a story of love, loss and resilience.

On Mother’s Day, the Ballingarry native announced their family is growing “by another heart and two little feet” and will welcome a rainbow baby; a name coined for a baby born after infant loss. 

“We are delighted and feel extremely grateful to be given this magical and miracle opportunity as a family,” she told the Limerick Leader. 

Speaking of her experience with loss, she said: “Your body physically takes time to heal after pregnancy, but it's your mental state that will often take the longest to recover. This is what I’ve been working on for the last 15 months with Féileacáin and our bereavement counsellor Marie Hunt, this I believe is my main struggle.”

Áine is expected to welcome her little one in July 2024.  According to her, the arrival of a ‘rainbow baby’ can be a very emotional time.

“As much of a blessing it is, it can bring up many conflicting feelings of happiness, excitement but also grief and even guilt. It's important to allow yourself to acknowledge and accept these feelings – there is no 'right' way to feel and go through the next adventure,” she said.

“I truly believe that this new baby and life entering our family, is most definitely a miracle sent from Hollie, and we are so very fortunate and grateful. She is guiding us on this new experience.” 

A few weeks ago, she announced the news to her son, Kai, who has too been going through grief. 

“He is delighted but navigating it in his own way as well as getting fantastic help and support from Children’s Grief Centre and his pre-school teachers in Ballingarry Pre-School.

“What I’ve learnt is that grief can blind side you at any time, it is not linear. We try to take the little moments of happiness and wins we have as a family and deal with it in the only way we know how. It’s all about navigating through the daily battles.”

In February, Áine published Hollie’s Journey and was overwhelmed by the positive feedback.

READ MORE: 'To bury your own child, it's not the natural cycle of life': Limerick mum writes book to help her son navigate grief

“Everyone has been so supportive and empathetic. I’m completely overwhelmed by the enormity of the response and the positive feedback. We’ve printed our second lot of 1,000 books with CUBE Printing which is just fantastic. Our local community in Ballingarry have been amazing in their support and the book is still being purchased daily in Spar there.”

Speaking of the feedback, she said: “Children who may not have lost a sibling but maybe, a grandparent, parent, family member or even a cat or a dog absolutely love it, and it is definitely bringing them into a place of more understanding of their grief.”

At the moment, the mum-to-be is working on a possible follow-up book, which would incorporate the family’s new journey. 

“I am writing it bit by bit as we go through different stages of this new adventure… you never know what will come of it. I didn’t think Hollie’s Journey would have a sequel, but it has just come naturally with our new life’s endeavours,” she concluded.